Spring, 2007 - #60 low angle block plane by Stanley - $8. #2 Stanley smoother - $15. Both found at the same booth of one of my weekly flea market stops. These are the best finds I've made in over a year. Nice. Funny story on these.

Aug. 1, 2005 - Stanley 10 1/2 rabbet bench plane, Type 1 (with adjustable mouth). Circa. 1885-1895. $40 at a local auction. A very rare plane in general, but absolutely unheard of in this part of the country. A rust-bucket, yes, but with some work a fine piece of iron. This is my absolute best find so far.

Summer, 2005 - Partial set of 70s-era lathe tools. Found at a swap meet in Phoenix, AZ. $20

Summer, 2005 - [Not exactly 'rust', but it fits this page.] A one-off estate type auction popped up locally earlier this summer. (These actually go on regularly during the week, but I'm usually at work. grr.) It was on a saturday, but I happened to be putting in some necessary extra time at work that day. Luckily, my partner at work is also a tool junkie, so we worked it out and I hit this auction and went in late to work. I managed to pick up this 14" closed-cabinet Jet band saw. It retails at Amazon.com for $550 + shipping. I won this baby for $270.

Summer, 2005 - I was extremely lucky this week. Snagged these two, antique, cast-iron Morgan quick-release woodworking vises at an auction. $20 each. Found a THIRD at the same place the following week. $20. (Update: I found a FOURTH identical vise at the same auction last night, but I wasn't able to stay and bid on it. No matter, though. I had quite a bit of competition last night and would likely have lost to the other men who typically bid on tools. I'm very curious about how much it sold for!)

Spring, 2005 - Set of Irwin brace bits. Found at the 'saturday junk guy'. $30

Spring, 2005 - Top to bottom:
Stanley brass and rosewood try square. $13 at an antique store in Little Rock.
Stanley small, all steel try square #?. $7.50 at a regular auction down the street.
Stanley boxwood and brass folding caliper rule #?. $7.50 at a regular auction down the street.

Spring, 2005 - Set of 8 socket chisels, plus 1 tanged chisel: $55. Varying makers, but all good, old steel. Most will require new handles. Found these at a local 'junk shop'.

Spring, 2005 - I stumbled on this Stanley Bailey 5-1/2C at a local flea market I frequent every couple of weeks. $45

Spring, 2005 - I picked up this box of miscellaneous tools for $15 at a church rummage sale. One unexpected bonus was a nice 70s-era Stanley combination square and a crispy bevel square. All of these extra screwdrivers and pliers enable me to put together some portable tool sets to keep in various places, too. (In the house, in the truck, etc.) Not to mention a great handful of files. Quite a deal, I would say.